07-27-2010, 10:24 PM
All reefers were cleaned prior to being sent for loading. If they were being loaded with "dry freight" for a return to California (PFE & SFRD) they would not want any left over fruit rotting in the bottom of the car. If being loaded with fruit or meat, they would want the cars clean because they are hauling food. Whether or not the car was pre-cooled depended on what the shipper asked for. Sometimes they would pre-cool, sometimes they would be iced after loading. In any case, in an area where a lot of refrigerated produce was shipped, like So Cal citrus, the icing docks would be located near the packing houses, and the clean out tracks would be located in the yard, most likely near the rip tracks.